Superheroes
by ABC-BTR
Summary: It all happened so fast. James had to have made it out alive, he just had to. Carlos didn't know what he would do without him - his best friend. Jarlos friendship. One-shot.


**Superheroes.**

This is for Jarlos Day on the 6th, courtesy of _LaurenNicole97_. This idea.. I'm a total nerd and I love superheroes and powers and X-Men type things. So yeah, this idea kinda came from all that. It's probably my most descriptive work to date, and what can I say, I got stupidly carried away and loved every moment of it. For anyone who might be confused with powers-

James has this thing where he can turn parts of his body into Diamond. Hehe, get it? If you know Emma Frost, imagine that. Carlos is like, he can heighten all of his senses to super greatness, and for the taste bit, he screams _really_ loud. Kendall and Logan aren't really mentioned, but I gave Kendork terrakinesis and Logie flight.

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><p>The sweat was building on his forehead quickly, his panting becoming more and more breathless. Each step along the rubble filled streets only made things a lot harder. Every now and then, his foot got caught on a piece of debris, causing him to lose balance and stumble slightly. It didn't help with this skin tight clothing practically clinging onto his body like it was a second skin. Like he was some sort of lizard, that could shed and replace so easily.<p>

"Shit." Carlos mumbled under his breath, as he pulled to a halt.

His glove covered fingers grasped at the earpiece, twisting the black device slightly. Static pierced through his mind, echoing out any thoughts that he was trying to think. The static wavered on it's thickness, sometimes hit pitchy notes whilst sometimes it kept to a dull hum.

"It's Carlos, can anyone hear me? Hello?" Carlos called out desperately, praying for a response.

He needed someone to answer. Someone, anyone. Someone had to have an answer, someone had to have survived the attack on the school. Checking his surroundings with glassy eyes, Carlos swallowed the forming lump in his throat, the flesh feeling like it had been torn off from the violent screams that Carlos let out when he noticed the airbourne hovercraft, appearing out of thin air and dangerously close to the school roof.

The coast looked clear, despite the glow of the angry flames that spouted around the block, broken and empty buildings adding to the apocolyptic feel that had happened.

It all happened to fast, he just wished he wasn't the only one that made it out alive. He wished that James made it out, at the very least. James knew what to do. James would know how to protect him, to save him, to be a real superhero and defeat the bad guys.

Squeezing his eyes shut and kneeling on the floor behind a large piece of rock, Carlos leaned back against it, attempting to catch his breath and replay the image in his head, trying to work out who he saw escape the attack.

_When the aircraft appeared out of nowhere, luckily, Carlos was able to see it, having been on the grounds, practising his aim and accuracy on the targets. He knew it was happening, having heard the familiar sound of a rocket going off. That was always the tell-tale sign of a hovercraft appearing. Logan taught him that._

_Within seconds of seeing the monster, Carlos concentrated with all his might, letting his lips part, an ear-shattering scream shooting out. It was powerful, white waves and circles bellowing from the Latino boy, tearing at chunks of the ground, uprooting it. Trees shook in the distance, and the minute Carlos thought his scream had hit the school, a loud bang sent ripples through the sky, closely followed by a towering inferno that erupted from the school roof. The blue canvas in the air quickly filled with the thick and toxic black smoke._

_The loud bang, most likely a bomb, managed to knock Carlos off of his feet, despite being a good distance from the wreckage. Despite having blurry eyes, Carlos noted on the small, ant like figures quickly fleeing the scene through different ways. Some were shooting through the sky, flying at high speeds. Others were running as fast as the eye could see, sometimes even turning into nothing but a blur._

_Concentrating with every muscle in his body, Carlos' pupils grew smaller, the usual chocolate colour turning an acidic green. Everything he could see grew larger, as if, in reality, he was a lot closer than normal. A lot like binoculars._

_A small, sad smile pushed out on his face when he noticed a beam of candy pink light rocketing through the sky, a small, black clothed figure on the end, his arms outwards. It was Logan. He managed to escape._

_Then, a miniature earthquake happened, Earth uprooting itself in a perfect line that followed around the ground, dark clay and brown mud showering down on the green blades of grass. Soon, another small ripple happened, a dirty blonde figure jumping out from under the ground like a mole. Kendall was safe, too. But as soon as he thought everything would be okay, that James could easily fight his way out, more rockets pierced through the sky._

_Looking up, Carlos noticed that the lone aircraft had friends. Many of them. Ropes by the dozen fell down, army figures decked out in guns and weapons quickly sliding down effortlessly._

_He should have stayed and fight. He could hear the sounds of bullets ripping out into the air, the noises of bangs and hiss and explosions, obvious that the stronger and older kids were at least fighting back. Something Carlos wished he could do._

_Pulling himself upwards, noticing that an aircraft was appearing above him, Carlos ran desperately into the forest, heading into town._

A small, croaked whimper escaped Carlos' lips as he kept himself pressed against the rock for dear life. He remembered seeing Logan and Kendall escape, and then remembering both boys turning around and using their powers to fight back. But there was no James.

Tears began to pepper at his eyes, a pounding in his head. Logan and Kendall were okay. James wasn't. James could be, but then again, he couldn't. A small, glossy tear streamed down his tanned face, mixing with the slight tint of crimson blood and dirt along the way. He couldn't live with himself if James died. Sure, Logan and Kendall were part of their quartet, but at the same time, the group stayed strong but still had their preferences. Logan and Kendall got on better, seeing as they shared a lot of the classes and both mature. Whilst James and Carlos got on better, seeing as they were both not mature.

Another explosion went off, startling Carlos. Bringing his hand to his heart, Carlos tried to calm down, to think positive.

"This is Carlos, can anyone hear me?" Carlos pleaded.

He was only met with more static, still wavering.

"I repeat, this is Carlos, can anyone hear me? Is anyone alive?" Carlos repeated, voice becoming slightly choked.

The static continued to cloud his mind, to blur every common sense that Carlos had left. Letting the blood rush through his body, Carlos once again concentrated every part of his muscle, this time, his powers shooting to his ears. He could hear every single noise for over 10 miles away. He could hear the smoke rising, the faint but deadly sounds of bullets still filling the air, the noises from the teenagers at the school fighting back, coupled with screams and shouting. Then, something caught his attention.

Footsteps.

But not any footsteps. These were loud footsteps that thudded against the broken ground with so much force, it couldn't be human. These footsteps were soon joined by another pair and then another pair and another. Before Carlos could count, his hearing was completely filled with the sounds of robotic-like stomps, all walking in perfect sync with each other. Placing his hands on the ground, Carlos gently lowered himself up, letting his eyes scan just over the rock.

He was just about ready to increase his eyesight, when he didn't need too. Just in the distance, from where he ran from, he could see the faint outline of a group of people walking towards him, marching. Except, rather than seeing camoflauge of the army men, or tight black uniforms that the kids were required to wear under school hours, all he could see was metal.

Shiny, metallic metal that allowed every single light particle to bounce off of it.

Carlos quickly ducked behind once again, bracing himself for the worse. They might not have seen him. They could be just heading this way naturally. They wouldn't send an army out for just one boy now, would they? Not when that one boy, that mutant, only had powers that could increase his five senses. That would be useless compared to Kendall's Earth-bending skills or Logan's flight.

A blast shot out in the air, shattering Carlos' thoughts. Before he had enough time to think anymore, the chunks off rock above his head broke away, flying in every direction possible. Quickly, Carlos placed his hands over his head, protecting it from any of the small pieces that could do some serious damage. Sweat glistened on his forehead once more, dread filling his mind.

This was it.

Death or capture.

That's what he was taught. They either kill you, if you're useless and can no way help them, or they capture you, if you have powers that could be manipulated for selfish need and greed.

Another blast shot out, skimming past the hole and just over Carlos' dark, black hair. His eyes widened as he noticed their real target, a boy standing in the middle of the street, legs and arms out, ready to fight. Like the school taught. His dark eyebrows furrowed, wondering which of the kids was willing to fight the army, when all of a sudden, the figure gave a flick of his wrist, the bottom half of his arm turning into a bright and glittery material, replacing the black clothing.

An arm of diamond.

James Diamond.

Carlos couldn't help but fight back the grin as another blast pierced through the air, heading towards James. Smugly, he jolted his arm of diamond out, deflecting the blast and sending it into a nearby building, rubble falling.

"James, look out!" Carlos screamed, acid spraying his throat from the sickening feeling.

Carlos could see the faint smirk that pushed across James' chiseled face. More shots blasted out from the robots, all heading towards the teenage boy. Rather than knocking them away with his hand, like he did last time, he simply stayed still, flicking both of his wrists simultaneously as the blasts collided with his body, a roar of smoke fleeing towards the sky. Carlos let out a strangled cry, tears furiously flowing from his eyes.

The boy that was his best friend.

The boy that was just like his brother.

The boy that protected him from the bullies at their normal school.

The boy that hugged him when he cried about leaving home.

The boy that helped Carlos perfect his skills in order to pass the test, to gain acceptance into the mutant school.

Dead.

Anger soon took over, Carlos throwing himself on to his feet and spinning around. Tears smothered and glossed his eyes, cheeks turning a fiery red as he clenched down onto his fists. The veins on his neck began to bulge as Carlos slowly arched his head backwards, exposing his throat. He could see, from the corner of his eye, the smoke still towering to the sky, his friend underneath in ashes.

The robots began to reload, bright, cerulean blue energy filling at the ends of their hands. But before they could react. Before they could retaliate and fire, Carlos let out another ear-piercing scream, sending shockwaves out across the block. It smashed ungracefully into the metallic army, causing them to fall off of their feet and onto the floor, some even scattering nearby, all taken out in one go.

Carlos let out tough breaths, trying to steady himself. He needed to be ready to fully destroy them.

They would get up, no doubt about it.

Then, a hand touched his shoulder. Warmth flowed through his body, sending shivers up and down his spine. He knew that touch, and instantly, it made it better. Knowing that everything could be sorted with this boy. Turning around, Carlos noticed that the shiny, diamond material that covered James' arm, was now, in fact, coated all over his body, causing the taller boy to shine brightly as slivers of light danced along the surface of his body.

"I thought you were dead.." Carlos quietly said.

"I know," James replied. "But you should know, Car, I don't give up."

Carlos smiled, his tear-stained cheeks being highlighted by the reflection of the diamond, his head beginning to drop sadly. "I know, I was just, worried I lost you.."

James could sense the falter in his voice, knowing how heartbroken Carlos was for that split second when he thought that he lost his closest friend.

"I would never leave you, you know that, right?" James whispered, tilting Carlos' chin up with his crystalline thumb.

"I-I-I need you, Jamie, I-I don't know what I'd do without my b-best friend by my side." Carlos choked.

"Well," James warmly smiled. "I'm always here, through thick and thin."

James opened his arms up, scooping the fragile Latino into a warm hug. Carlos instantly let himself melt into the touch of James' diamond skin, an unusual and completely new feature. James opened his arms again, releasing the Latino, noticing some of the robots rising behind Carlos. Carlos smiled, turning on the spot, the soft and innocent smile turning into something more rebellious.

Something more smug.

Something more like his best friend, James Diamond would do.

"You ready to kick some metal ass?" James raised an eyebrow.

"With you," Carlos smirked. "Anyday."

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><p><strong>Could this be the start of a multi-chap story or have a sequel? Hmm, possibly. ;D<strong>

**I hope this wasn't crappy. It was meant to be friendship, but they have this reallllllyyyy close friendship.. Oh, the italic part was a flashback. Yeah, and.. Happy Jarlos Day! :D**


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